and what about the afghan government? it's meaningless here, they say. you think it's possible that the taliban will try and come back? "yes, they will," he says. "it it makes a decades worth of american battles seem futile. it wasn't always like this. >> the united states military has begun strikes. >> reporter: at first -- >> one, two, three! >> reporter: -- the war had momentum. and a clear purpose. al qaeda with bases in afghanistan attacked the united states on 9/11. just three months later, the u.s. drove the taliban from power. al qaeda and osama bin laden were on the run. it was done with a few hundred cia officers, special forces and air power. a quick victory but not decisive. and then came the distraction of a new war in iraq. the taliban regrouped, and the u.s. began a nation-building project that has been far less successful. the government washington helped put in place is widely considered corrupt. president karzai is supposed to be out by 2015. but afghans don't believe it. the war has brought some benefits to afghans. 3 million girls now